Cycling Live

Giro d'Italia - Cantu - Bergamo

Live Comments

  1. 0**** - A further 12 second time bonus for Simoni. So he has taken around 50 seconds out of Di Luca's lead today.

  2. 0**** - 38 seconds! Di Luca crosses the line 38 seconds behind Simoni!

  3. 0**** - Now Danilo di Luca and Damiano Cunego are sprinting for the finish - every second counts now! What will the gap be?

  4. 0**** - Garzelli takes it!!! He edges out Simoni over the final few metres! Bettini is back in third.

  5. 0.3** - Garzelli comes past Simoni....Savoldelli may have left it too late....

  6. 1km** - Garzelli is right on Simoni's tail!

  7. 1.5km - 16 seoconds is Simoni's advantage! He's looking good for victory!

  8. 2km** - They're coming downhill now from Bergamo Alta. What drama - a terrific finish!

  9. 2km** - Savoldelli could still have a say on this flat section.

  10. 2km** - Garzelli can't keep Simoni's pace, while Di Luca has moved to the front in the group further back.

  11. 3km** - Simoni leads the front group over the cobbles! Garzelli and Bettini go with him! They have broken clear!

  12. 5km** - 50 seconds the latest split. Wegelius at the front of the chasers.

  13. 5km** - Paolo Bettini moves to the front of the lead group! He will have his sights set on stage victory, though so too of course will Savoldelli and Mazzoleni.

  14. 9km** - 53 seconds is the latest gap back to the pick jersey.

  15. 11km* - Were tomorrow's stage not such a difficult one, Di Luca and Cunego would no doubt have done some of the work on the front of this group.

  16. 14km* - A reminder of the lead group: Bettini (Quick Step), Parra (Cofidis), Baliani (Panaria), Savoldelli and Mazzoleni (Astana), Garzelli (Acqua e Sapone), Simoni (Saunier Duval).

  17. 18km* - 1'05" is the gap now. It looks like this high-quality lead group will indeed stay away. In terms of a possible sprint, it would surely be Paolo Bettini who would hold all the aces.

  18. 22km* - Di Luca has only two team-mates around him, though can take solace in the fact that Cunego's Lampre outfit are also keen not to allow the lead group to preserve their advantage.

  19. 24km* - Paolo Savoldelli is doing all the work now, followed by Gilberto Simoni. He's using all his time-trialling ability to keep the gap up.

  20. 29km* - Ivan Parra is struggling to keep the pace at the front...he's being tailed off.

  21. 30km* - The CSC team are trying to check over Andy Schleck's bike after that fall, just as Tinkoff are doing with Petrov.

  22. 33km* - It's so difficult to make back time on descents. Andy Schleck needs to do all he can to make is back to the group, but not panic.

  23. 37km* - Evgeni Petrov falls in the chase group! And takes Andy Schleck with him! They're both back on their bikes, but have nobody to help them rejoin the chase group.

  24. 37km* - A reminder of the composition of the lead group: Bettini (Quick Step), Parra (Cofidis), Baliani (Panaria), Rasmussen (Rabobank), Savoldelli et Mazzoleni (Astana), Garzelli and Codol (Acqua e Sapone), Simoni and Mayo (Saunier Duval).

  25. 37km* - Average speed after four hours racing: 37.1 km/h.

  26. 37km* - 1'02" is the answer! The gap is not falling.

  27. 38km* - The lead group reach the top of La Trinita! What will the gap be back to the maglia rosa group?

  28. 39km* - There's a high Lampre presence at the front of the peloton too. They of course have Damiano Cunego and, to a lesser extent, Marzio Bruseghin contending in the GC.

  29. 39km* - Liquigas have called back Franco Pellizzotti to come and do some work at the front of the peloton. The gap has edged up to a minute, and this is a precarious situation for Di Luca and the pink jersey.

  30. 41km* - Mazzoleni takes the strain at the front now. His team-mate Paolo Savoldelli is right on his shoulder.

  31. 44km* - Now Gilberto Simoni hits the front. He needs to drag this group up the mountain and fend off the Liquigas team. 50 seconds is the gap.

  32. 46km* - Codol is at the front of the main group, Mayo and Bettini at the back. Sylvester Szmyd has already been dropped.

  33. 50km* - The pace is dropping in the lead group. Bettini is just about hanging on in there, and Szmyd is struggling too.

  34. 55km* - Iban Mayo is struggling. He has fallen from the lead group, and has now been passed by Simoni and Savoldelli's group.

  35. 59km* - Gilberto Simoni's mini-group has caught Savoldelli's mini-group. Mazzoleni (10th in GC), Simoni (8th), Garzelli (12th) and Savoldelli (15th) are all in pursuit of the leaders. Pellizotti and Codol are the other two riders in the sextet.

  36. 69km* - None of the leaders on this stage are among the top seven riders on the GC.

  37. 71km* - Gilberto Simoni attacks! He leaves Du Lica's Liquigas team behind and is off in pursuit of the leaders.

  38. 72km* - The lead group are reunited! Pinotti, Bettini, Rasmussen, Szmyd, Arvesen, Rubiera et al are back together at the bottom of the descent.

  39. 73km* - Savoldelli and Mazzoleni are on the attack. They are clear of the peloton. Liquigas have sent Pellizotti to police them, though they are pushing on in an attempt to catch the leaders.

  40. 74km* - Bettini has jumped clear of Mayo, Arvesen and Pinotti and is now trying to bridge the gap to Balliani, Rasmussen and Szmyd.

  41. 75km* - Paolo Savoldelli, Eddy Mazzoleni (Astana) and Marco Pinotti (T-Mobile) are all from this region. It's a shame for Mazzoleni that he will have to work for Savoldelli today. Riders always like to go for personal glory in their home regions, though team interests must come first.

  42. 75km* - One of the Credit Agricole boys has taken a nasty fall. Difficult to tell who it is as a lot of the riders are wearing jackets to ward off the cold. Now it becomes clear - it's Pietro Caucchioli!

  43. 77km* - Di Luca's Liquigas team have reacted. They go over the summit 1'57" behind the leaders and are chasing them hard.

  44. 80km* - The lead group were decimated by an attack by Parra just before the summit. Bettini, Mayo and Pinotti are a little adrift now.

  45. 80km* - The leaders reach the top of the Paso San Marco. 1. Balliani 10 pts, 2. Szmyd 6 pts, 3. Rasmussen 4 pts. Pinotti goes over the top now, followed by Paolo Bettini and Iban Mayo.

  46. 87km* - Stefano Garzelli jumps away from the peloton, and is swiftly followed by Andy Schleck. Di Luca certainly won't let him get far up the road.

  47. 92km* - The leaders have extended their advantage to 2'50" as they attack to most severe parts of the Passo San Marco.

  48. 94km* - The lead group is comprised of: Bettini (ITA/Quick Step), Szmyd (POL/Lampre), Mayo (ESP/Saunier Duval), Losada (ESP/Caisse d'Epargne), Parra (COL/Cofidis), Baliani (ITA/Panaria), Caucchioli (ITA/C.Agricole), Rubiera (ESP/Discovery), Rasmussen (DAN/Rabobank), Arvesen (NOR/CSC), Pinotti (ITA/T-Mobile).

  49. 95km* - The peloton has now fallen 1'50" behind Bettini's group. It's a high-class bunch who have broken clear. Pietro Caucchioli, Sylvester Szmyd and Alberto Losada are there alongside the world champion.

  50. 99km* - Bettini's group have a 40 second advantage over the peloton, which is now led by Di Luca's Liquigas outfit.

  51. 101km - Krauss has been caught by Bettini's group, and now by the peloton.

  52. 103km - Astana's Benoit Joachim is struggling to hold on. It looks like he may be dropped.

  53. 104** - Caucchioli, Rubiera, Rasmussen, Bettini and Schwab break clear and hare off in pursuit of Krauss. Piepoli, Bonnaire and Sella follow them.

  54. 104km - 43km/h is the average speed over the first two hours of racing.

  55. 107km - Krauss arrives at the feeding point ahead of the climb with an advantage of 1'10".

  56. 110km - No reaction from the peloton as Krauss builds up a lead of 40 seconds.

  57. 111km - Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner) jumps the field! That looks a determined attack.

  58. 119km - Not far now until the first climb of the day, the Passo San Marco. 26 kilometres is the total length of the climb, with an average gradient of 6.6%. Some parts of the climb are a nasty 12%.

  59. 122km - Enrico Gasparotto (Liquigas) takes a tumble - he should be fine to resume though.

  60. 123km - Quickstep's Jurgen van der Walle is the next man to retire.

  61. 125km - The ambitious little breakaway group can do no more, and is swallowed back up.

  62. 129km - CSC moves to the front of the peloton now.

  63. 131km - Around 15 riders are now a few second ahead of the peloton.

  64. 133km - AN ATTACK FROM LASZLO BODROGI! The Crédit Agricole man jumps clear of the field. Tinkoff's Salvatore Commesso is right on his tail, along with a dozen or so other riders.

  65. 144km - Another abandonment! This time it's Fabio Sabatini of the Milram ream. One less in Alessandro Petacchi's train.

  66. 150km - There are two large climbs on today's programme: First of all the Passo San Marco, a first category climb 80 kilometres before the stage finish, and the Trinita, a second category climb 39 kilometres from home.

  67. 151km - The average speed over the first hour of the race is 43.3km/h.

  68. 154km - No changes so far in the peloton. Rabobank, Saunier Duval and Quickstep are doing the work at the front.

  69. 166km - Discovery Channel's Brian Vandborg has just pulled out! His race is over.

  70. 172km - The pink jersey is still the property of Danilo Di Luca,. who is looking in ominously good form this year. Marzio Bruseghin, the winner of yesterday's time-trial, lies second in the GC, though Di Luca's main rivals remain Andy Schleck, Damiano Cunego (3rd and 4th in the GC respectively) and Gilberto Simoni (8th in GC).

  71. 175km - Nocentini (ITA/AG2R), Cortinovis (ITA/Milram), and Duclos-Lassalle (FRA/Cofidis) try an escape, though are swiftly reeled back un by the peloton.

  72. 192km - The stage is underway! The 157 riders left in the Giro start their trek towards Cantu.

  73. 12:00 - Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's live text commentary of the 14th stage of the Tour de France from Cantu' to Bergamo.